Judge Sena Uzunović of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced at the start of today’s status conference that the defense’s request to exclude expert witness Haris Vranić in the case against the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik has been rejected.
Uzunović emphasized that the request for exclusion was unfounded, stating that the Court of BiH had initially requested a preliminary medical evaluation from Vranić, followed by a supplementary report after receiving Dodik’s discharge letter.
Goran Bubić, Dodik’s defense attorney, argued that Vranić should recuse himself due to his hostile stance toward the President, which he expressed in a Facebook post in 2021.
During the first part of the status conference, Vranić defended his findings, explaining that his opinion was based solely on medical documentation. He clarified that his initial task was to determine the type of medical procedure performed.
Vranić further stated that after receiving the discharge letter, the Court requested an additional opinion assessing whether Dodik could travel between Banja Luka and Sarajevo and what physical activities were restricted.
“Driving and sitting, with ten-minute breaks, are not considered restricted activities,” Vranić said, adding that he noticed contradictions in the discharge letter and that the procedure performed did not require urgency.
When questioned by Bubić, Vranić confirmed that he had posted the controversial Facebook comment in 2021.
Following Vranić’s testimony, a six-member medical team from the General Hospital “Primarius Dr. Abdulah Nakaš” in Sarajevo will present their findings to the Court.
Today’s status conference follows the postponement of the main hearing originally scheduled for today. The delay came after the Court received a multidisciplinary medical report from the hospital team, which concluded that Dodik is not medically fit to attend the trial.
Earlier, defense attorney Bubić filed a motion to exclude Vranić due to allegations of political bias.
President Milorad Dodik and acting director of the Official Gazette Miloš Lukić are being tried for “failing to comply with the decisions of Christian Schmidt.”
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Source: Glas Srpske
